Nine things to do before you hire

If you know you need a new member of staff but you’re not sure of the process, here are some simple steps you can take to ensure that you hit the ground running and attract the ideal candidate.

Know exactly what the role looks like

Before you do anything else, it’s worth while setting some goals for your soon-to-be employee. Before you even start to write the job description, jot down what might the average day look like for this individual, what their goals will be and how you’ll measure their success.

Do some salary research

Salary is the thing that most prospective employees want to know first. It’s vital that you pitch it just right so you get great value. Look on jobs boards for roles at a similar level to the one you are recruiting for or do a search for salary surveys for your industry for some guidance.

Write the person specification first

Outlining what your perfect team member is capable of is a great place to start when you’re recruiting because it will help you to narrow down the field and hire someone who can do what you need them to with minimal training. It also helps candidates to see how they might fit in your team and saves a lot of time in sifting out those who aren’t quite right. What skills must they have? What skills are desirable but you can live without them? Do they need specific qualifications?

Highlight the benefits

Make sure you sell the role but be honest; people like a challenge! If the role is hard work, make sure you state this. You’ll find that people willing to put in the effort will find that a really attractive prospect. Other selling points include; training and development opportunities, travel and the ability to help a business to grow and thrive.

Create your advertisement and job description

Now, pull everything together and look at it from the prospective of your existing team and potential candidates. Does it sound appealing? Does it solve workload issues? Another pair, or few pairs, of eyes is always helpful here. Don’t forget we are always happy to advise!

Set a timeframe

How urgent is recruiting for your role? If it’s replacing a member of staff who is leaving or stepping into a fast-moving project, you may need a much faster turnaround than if you are growing your team. Having this information to hand will be really helpful for recruiters and candidates alike.

Give us a call

If you want to hire the best and most dedicated staff, we can definitely help you. On a more serious note, now you have your job description and you know the sort of person you’re looking for, you’re ready – you just have to get the word out there.

Plan your interview structure and questions

There are so many options for interviewing candidates. These can involve several steps; a phone call, a first interview and possibly a second stage with a test, while some employers prefer to have an informal chat. It’s your call on how thorough you want to be to make a decision that you are happy with. It helps to consider how long you want to spend on talking, testing and deciding and communicate this clearly to your interview panel (if you have one) and to the candidate so they can be fully prepared. Write your questions based on the person specification in the job description so you can assess how the candidate matches these and compare them to the skills and answers of other candidates. Make sure you block out time in diaries for interviews to ensure that the right people are in the room.

Have a solid induction plan

This is admittedly easier for smaller companies but it’s still worth putting together a plan for what your new team member’s first days and/or weeks might look like. For example, do they need equipment and will this be ready? Should they start a little later on their first day? What are the first things they need to learn about the business? You need to be able to answer all the initial questions; such as the ubiquitous “when is payday? And “where can I get lunch?”.